With Labor Day approaching and the conventions in full swing, we are now nearing the home stretch and the most intense part of the presidential campaign. From now until November this is the part of the election cycle in which we anticipate the direction of the United States for the next four years.

We are seeing poll after poll asking Americans who they will commit to vote for and how they believe America is doing. Are we on the right track? After seeing the direction of this country in the past four years, I find it hard to believe that consistently up wards of 40% of the people polled believe that we are on the right track. They agree with the status quo. They want more of the same.

Because of the number of these polls and the fact that they are all different, and they change every day, I still find it mind-boggling that the range is between 40 and 48% of the people who are satisfied with the status quo is today. Haven't they noticed that the median income has been declining? Haven't they seen the explosion in the national debt? Haven't they seen a decline in their retirement accounts? Or don't they have any? Perhaps it is between 40 and 48% of the people who are going to be entirely dependent upon the government. Either now or in the next four years. How is the current administration taking care of the middle class? Are they making food stamps easier to get? Are they reducing the incentive for hard work and the rewards that come with it as a trade-off for governmental assistance? Let's hope not. But we've seen what has happened to hope and change in the past four years.

The Obama administration came into office campaigning on promises that they were going to tackle the tough problems and not kick the can down the road. The proverbial can has been kicked down the road further than ever before. The can has been kicked so far down the road that the Obama administration can no longer do anything about the economic conditions. They have no plans. They have no accomplishments. The failed stimulus only contributed to higher debt. It bailed out state and local governments for a year or two and now they [the local governments] are also looking for new sources of venue. Unlike the federal government, local governments can't print money.

There were even said occurred over the past four years that no one would have anticipated. For the first time, the bond rating of the United States has been downgraded. We have had four years of $1,000,000,000,000+ deficits. There has been a decline in the number of working people in America. Of course, there have been good excuses for these. Perhaps 40% of those polled believe that this is the best the President Obama can do. Well, it may be the best he can do, but it is not the best America can do. Perhaps the time will come very soon that many of these 40% will stand back and take an analytic view of the direction America is going. Not everyone will agree that America is on the wrong track, and even those who believe that America is on the wrong track will not vote for change.

It's time to get optimistic again, America. It's time to get back on the right track. America again can have a bright and strong future. We can do better. We must do better.

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